China has imposed more limitations on online news and information and has sharply restricted the type of content it will permit on websites in what is apparently part of a larger effort to halt liberalization in the news media, particularly online, which has become a dominant source of news and information for urban Chinese, writes the New York Times. "The foremost responsibility of news sites on the Internet is to serve the people, serve socialism, guide public opinion in the right direction, and uphold the interests of the country and the public good," the regulations state.

According to government regulations introduced Sunday, major search engines and portals like Sina.com and Sohu.com must stop posting their own commentary articles and instead use only opinion pieces provided by government-controlled media; and online news sites must "give priority" to news and commentary distributed by national and provincial news organs.

Moreover, individuals or groups must register as "news organizations" before being allowed to operate email news or commentary distribution lists.